A Cold Night in March
by James Koach
Summary: Hours before the invasion, a company of Regular Army soldiers awaits the upcoming war.


Gallian nights were surprisingly cold in March. As I lowered the car's window, the icy wind bit into my uncovered neck, sending a chill down my spine. I shouldn't have left my jacket in the office.

A guard stepped out of his sentry box. A pang of envy struck my mind. He had his jacket. "Good morning, First Lieutenant," he greeted, before opening the front gate. I gave him a little nod and quickly raised the window. Stifling a sneeze, I drove past the checkpoint, headed towards the main parking lot.

After leaving the car, and making my best to ignore the cold, I half walked, half jogged towards the main building. The barracks were oddly active tonight. More guards than usual, trucks and an APC parked on the parade grounds. One of the bicycle squads wasn't even sleeping, they were carrying out maintenance to their vehicles instead.

That was enough to give me a very bad feeling.

Tensions between Gallia and our neighbours were growing rapidly. The war raging between the Empire and Federation would soon slip into our lands. Rumour has it the Empire has it's eyes on us. All those ragnite mines up in Fouzen will be our death sentence.

Yesterday had been particularly eventful. A report came from the Ghirlandaio border police. Columns of trucks and armoured vehicles had been spotted on the Imperial side of the frontier. That sprung silent alarms all over the country, but until war was declared, our hands were tied. The inconveniences of neutrality, one could say.

Still, that was grounds enough to carry out a partial mobilisation. Hours after the report came through, three anti-tank guns had arrived in our little garrison. And it fell on my squad to command them.

A soldier came running out of a building, and waved at me. As he grew closer, I recognized him as my second in command. He briskly stopped in front of me, snapping at attention and raising his hand to his brow.

"First Lieutenant", he saluted, slightly wincing as he finally noticed the cold.

"Sergeant," I greeted back. "What's the situation? Any new developments?"

"Yes, sir. About two hours ago, the border outpost near Bruhl reported movements on the Imperial side. We believe this is it."

The bad feeling in my stomach grew larger. As I gave a hard gulp, the sergeant continued. "Orders came through to be on standby. We'll be up and at 'em the moment they cross the border."

"Has the local town watch been informed?"

"Yes, sir. Commander Laaken has begun the evacuation. He hopes Bruhl will be clear by tomorrow at midday."

"Good. Head to our barracks and carry out an inspection. I want everyone with boots on, coats buttoned up and ammo in the magazines."

"Understood." He paused, lowering his eyes for a moment before looking back up. "Lieutenant... we'll be the first ones in there, won't we?"

"Someone has to be first, sergeant." He bit his lower lip and nodded in acceptance. "We have to buy Laaken as much time as we can. You have your orders. See to it."

"By your leave, sir." We both snapped to attention and traded a salute, then hastily ran off to our destinations.

This bloody cold.

Finally, I was relieved of my torture when I entered the main building. The warm caress of stove heat felt like bliss. One less problem to worry about.

* * *

After going through my office, I made my way to the command room. The other officers were already there, gathered around a table with maps and listening to the Captain's instructions. As I walked into the room, the Captain looked at me and nodded. I nodded back and took my place with the others.

"Glad you could join us, First Lieutenant," he said. "I hope your wife and future baby are doing well."

I gave him a smile. "Yes, thank you, sir. The baby's healthy and will be coming in a few days."

"Just how many kids do you have?" one of the officers asked.

"Yeah, isn't this like your fourth child, First Lieutenant?"

"Fifth, actually," I replied.

"Someone likes having fun..." At that last comment, most of the room tore into laughter. The Captain didn't look all too happy, but didn't stop it. It was necessary to lighten up the mood. When the joke died down, our commander continued his speech.

"As I was saying, our petition for reinforcements was scantly answered. General Damon ordered almost the entire army to Ghirlandaio, where the Empire's main force is believed to attack. As such, we only get leftovers.

"Three companies will be leaving Randgriz in a few hours, headed this way. However, it is very possible the Empire will strike before they arrive. Should that happen, we are to set positions five kilometres east of Bruhl, in order to give time for the evacuation. We only have enough trucks for the First Lieutenant's squad, so he will hold the line until the rest get there.

"Once the town is clear, we are to destroy the bridges, withdraw to Dillsburg and dig in. Any questions?"

A single hand was raised. "Yes, Second Lieutenant?"

"Sir, what if the enemy breaks through before the rest of us get there?"

"Let us hope it doesn't happen. However, if it does, the First Lieutenant will fall back, meet us halfway, and take positions wherever we are. Any more questions?" Nobody else raised a hand. Satisfied, the Captain gave us a slim smile. "Good. That is all, then. I want everyone ready at a moment's notice. Dismissed."

* * *

The break room was uncomfortably silent. Minutes turned into hours, as myself and three junior lieutenants sat on our sofas and drank copious amounts of coffee. It was five in the morning, and the tension was palpable. At one point, one of them put down his sixth cup and looked up at us. "You know", he mumbled, "if the Imperials wanted to attack, they would have done so already."

"Maybe they're having their beauty sleep, so they can eat us for breakfast when the sun rises," said another one. I couldn't help but grimace.

"Too bad all they'll bite is bullets!" the third officer cut in. He then turned to me and smiled. "Don't look so grim, First Lieutenant! You get to have first blood!"

I shot him a glare before replying. "Worry about yourself, Second Lieutenant." I turned to look at the others. "All of you. The entire plan hinges on-" I was cut off by the noise of boots hitting the floor, then the Captain busting through the door with a worried look.

"Everyone to the command room, now!" he yelled. We all jumped on our feet and ran after him.

 _This can't be good._

When we got there, the Captain led us to the radio, where a single operator was yelling into the microphone.

"Checkpoint Ten, come in! Checkpoint Ten, do you read me?!"

A frightened voice came through the speaker. "This is Checkpoint Ten! Things don't look good here!"

"Report! What can you see?!"

A deep silence came in reply. _This is bad._

"We can see infantry, trucks and tanks! They are headed straight towards us!"

 _This is really bad._

"Have they crossed the border?!" Silence... "Checkpoint Ten?!"

...

...

"BORDER BREACHED! BORDER BREACHED! ENEMY TANKS ARE- GET DOWN!" A loud explosion boomed through the room, then more silence.

...

 _By the Valkyrur._ We all just stared at the radio. Slowly, terror crept up our faces.

...

"Checkpoint ten, repeat! Checkpoint Ten?! CHECKPOINT TEN, COME IN!"

...

Nothing.

The Captain was the first to snap out of it. "You all heard it!" he exclaimed. We all looked at each other. "The Empire has crossed our borders." He took a deep breath. "Gallia is at war. Gentlemen, to your units. It's time to show them what we're made of."

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. No time for panic. Everyone else, though, were still motionless. "Come on!" I shouted, before pushing one of the lieutenants outside and sprinting to my office. The rest seemed to get the message.

On my way, I took a small detour and headed to a nearby window, which faced the parade grounds. I opened it and placed my hands on my mouth to yell. "ALARM! ALARM! SOMEONE RING A SIREN!"

I didn't wait for a confirmation. By the time I got to my door, the sirens were echoing through the whole base. I opened the door and rushed to the locker. Jacket. Webbing. Armour. Binoculars. Maps. Mags. Helmet. All set.

I didn't even bother locking the door. No time for that. When I made it outside, a swarm of soldiers broke out of their barracks, some dashing to the armoury to get their heavy weapons. My squad, the 12th in the battalion, quickly formed up in line by the trucks, waiting for me. The AT guns were already limbered. I picked up the pace to meet them, and was welcomed by my Sergeant's sharp bark.

"First Lieutentant," he saluted. "Squad's almost ready for departure. We're missing the AT ammo."

"Good." I took a moment to inspect the unit. Everyone seemed ready enough. One soldier, with a Squall recoil gun, looked a bit more frightened than the others. The NCO called out to me and waved his head to the command centre. The Captain and his aide had walked out.

"Follow me," I told him. The two of us jogged to meet the Captain, and gave him a sharp salute. "Captain."

The man nodded and brought up his map. "The Imperials have broken in three places. Two in Ghirlandio, and near Bruhl. They're coming to us through the main highway." He pointed at his map, dragging his finger along the marked route. "It's up to us to hold until the town evacuates."

"Any news from the other garrisons?" the Sergeant asked.

"Reinforcements are coming from Randgriz," the aide replied, "but they'll take a while to get here. When Bruhl's empty, we withdraw to Dillsburg and meet them there."

"Dillsburg will act as regional command centre," continued the Captain. "All new orders, messages and reports will come from there. Sergeant, First Lieutenant, we meet east of Bruhl. Hold until we get there."

"We won't fail you, sir," I said, before giving a salute. "Captain. We'll be waiting for you."

"Just leave something for the rest of us. Good luck." He saluted back and walked off to the APC, followed by the aide. The Sergeant and I traded looks, then walked back to our squad.

The AT ammo had already been loaded on the trucks. Now to mount up and head out. We stepped in front of the men, who snapped at attention on the NCO's command.

I took a deep breath. "AN IMPERIAL ARMOURED DIVISION HAS BROKEN THROUGH OUR BORDER!" I shouted. "THIS IS NOT A DRILL! GALLIA IS AT WAR! KEEP YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU, AND YOUR HEADS ON A SWIVEL! GOOD LUCK! SQUAD TWELVE, MOVE OUT!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for reading. This is the first time I write something in a really long time, so I'm quite out of practice. I apologize for any cringing you might have suffered.**

 **As some of you may have noticed, this entire story is a reference to the Danish movie "9. April", which pictures the German invasion of Denmark. I fell in love with that movie, and thought it'd be a good idea to practice my writing a bit by making this one-shot.**

 **All criticism, good, bad and insulting, is welcome.**


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